Not properly trained for ER?????

And the minute you realize that you ARE that nurse ... well, you won't ever forget it.

I did a level 1 pediatric er straight out of school. I did go through a residency program. I have a bachelor's degree, but as far a nursing training, I don't see that a new grad with a bachelor's degree would be any more prepared for the er/icu than an associates. I think that your emt experience will help you get a job in an er because you do have experience in emergency situations. Go for the er, I think you can do it. The instructors in my nursing school always advised not to do er or icu as new grads, however i have seen plenty of new grads not only do it, but be successful at it. Check out the level one trauma center and see if they have a residency/new grad program because many of them do. Get a job as a tech, that is useful to gain experience and get your foot in the door, as well. Good luck!

We must have started at the same time as new grads in the ER and I feel the same. I'm 3 months off a 4 month orientation and I just had a review/eval with the director and she is very impressed with where I'm at as a new grad. I didn't think I would be doing as well as I am but I feel very confident with most situations that come through the doors. Of course there are those full arrests that come in and we some how get them back and they are unstable and ICU isn't ready to receive them for a few hours so we end up holding them and coding them repeatedly and I need help from the other experienced RNs but generally I feel pretty good.
I oriented on days and since I've been on nights on my own I get a lot of the RNs asking me where I worked before and when I tell them no where I'm a new grad that had practically zero ER experience they are shocked. A lot of people tell me they would have never guessed I'm a new grad. I think I work with a good team of nurses and they are always open to questions I have. I would say our ER is fairly busy, I've been told we are one of the busiest in the county (no trauma though) and I'm generally able to hold my own with little to no help from others.

I think about the same things as you...why does this job feel so right for me (I actually ended up in ER on accident, they had filled all the ICU positions and offered ER instead - I NEVER thought of being an ER nurse but I accepted and LOVE it and can't imagine working any other unit!)
I think I'm making not necessarily a better nurse but I'm becoming a very competent nurse. I feel like if I wanted to I could go work any other unit from ER since we see it all. We see many procedures in the ER, we are used to emergencies/codes, we get an insane amount of practice with skills (IVs, foleys, NGs etc) so I feel like working ER as a new grad was an excellent choice!

Im a new grad in the ER.......I'm learning a lot and I wish that I could hurry along to this time next year..........Last night I felt as though my preceptor did not want to be bothered, and it's was very stressful.........This makes it hard and awkward......She tells me that she work in Med/surg 10 years before coming to the ER and she feels that no new grad should start in the ER.......I mean that's her opinion and I did work as a tech before this and did an ER externship the year before.......I ve seen new grads succeed and fail in the ER, but I can say the preceptor makes the difference......I feel that I can suceed with help, Im frustrated, not by my inexperience but by the personality conflict of the experience nurses who make me feel as though Im being hassed in a sorority............I love nursing and the ER but nurses are some baggage carrying, psychoes, that I just have to adjust too................Urrgghhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clinically, there would be no less preparation for the ER coming out of an Associate program than say a Bachelor's program. A new grad in the ER is a new grad...doesn't really matter what alphabet soup is behind their name. I have seen some new grads do ok in the ER and some that get a couple weeks of orientation and then shipped off to med-surg as it becomes abundantly apparent that the ER is not where they should start. It sounds like you have emergency experience as an EMT...I think that definitely helps. No matter what, you should be given a lengthy orientation if you are in fact hired in an ER as a new grad. And no matter how long that orientation is, you should not expect to be running three or four trauma rooms on your first day of orientation. The vast majority of RNs in practice have Associate degrees. The number of BSNs is rising but clinically there is no difference.